A fascinating difference in smartphone buying behaviour got highlighted today. In the US, Apple has double the market share of its nearest competitor, Samsung. However, in The Netherlands, the swamp I call home, the situation is completely reversed; Apple sits at 10% of the smartphone market, Samsung at 19.6%. Is this indicative of Europe as a whole? Could German, French, Polish, British, Spanish, Italian, etc. readers give local information from their own countries? I'm intrigued.

Samsung success is impressive. BTW I think they will fail miserably in the long run because they sell good hardware but commodity software. Android doesn't have any added value, anybody can give you Android.

I mean, if Nokia wakes up someday and launch an N9 with Android... that will be the end of Samsung Galaxy. C'mon who wants a Samsung when there's a Nokia?

Android market is a mess with zero margin in the long run like the PC hardware market is. That's why Nokia has Android only as a last desperate resort but not as an strategic option.

Apple will rule, they are way smarter capitalists than everyone else. xD

This is nonsense, at least in The Netherlands. iPhone 3GS/4/4S are just as expensive as Samsung's smartphone lineup. People regularly forget that the 3GS is *free*, and heck, even the iPhone 4 is free on contract now - with 2-year, 20-30 EUR/m contracts. Heck, the SIII is more expensive than the iPhone 4S!

Really, the pricing argument no longer holds. Samsung is beating Apple not because they're cheaper, but because people perceive them as *better*.

Now I understand why The Netherlands is plural: there are several and you live in another one than me. :-p

People pick Android phones because they are cheap, appear to be cheap or are part of some kind of offer. People want them because they can Internet with it and send Whatsapp messages. Notice how "Android" is often omitted in advertising, it's not a selling point.

iPhones are sold to the same people, but also to (a lot of) people who want an iPhone because of what it can do (which is more than surfing and sending messages). This would probably explain why iPhone users are actual users and not just owners like most Android owners are who just want a phone.

Your linked article takes in account all Samsung smartphone sales, that includes phones way cheaper than Apple phones.

I can only speak about Italy and Spain, that's what I know very well, and iPhone 4S is a luxury phone there. Everybody wants one, but they're expensive. Samsung phones are popular, anybody can buy a Samsung.

BTW If you want to compare only higher market Samsung options, here are the prices in Italy:

iPhone 4S 16gb libero -> 600 euros
Galaxy S2 16gb libero -> 300 euros

iPhones are the most expensive phones hands down.

I live in Buenos Aires and It's exactly the same. Samsungs are immensely popular because they're cheap. Everybody wants an iPhone, but common people can't afford it.

I hate to disagree but I really don't know anybody that says that. Samsung is definitely regarded as "inferior" as opposed to the iPhone. So it clearly has to do with the circles you're in. Mine only does iPhone. Occasionally I see something else but usually it's iPhone, iPhone, iPhone.